The Logan County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Human Services child welfare case workers responded to a call about a child being handcuffed in the 3300 block of North Midwest Boulevard on June 24. When they arrived, officials discovered five children being supervised by a 16-year-old sibling. Officers said that one of the children, a 7-year-old boy, had been handcuffed.

According to officials, the boy had been experiencing some behavioral problems both at school and at home. The child was the victim of a prior abusive household and was living in the home with his mother. Police say the parents chose to use handcuffs to restrain the child as a means to control him.

The parents, Thomas O'Brien, 37 and Tonya Bengtson, 36, are charged with child neglect, which is punishable by up to a year in prison, a fine up to $5,000 or both.